


Even Though I Can Afford It

by mmmdraco



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-26
Updated: 2012-07-26
Packaged: 2017-11-10 18:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/469569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There weren't enough things out there that made her heart beat faster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even Though I Can Afford It

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the characters, I mean no harm, I have no money... Stuff like that. Yeah.

Even though I can afford it, I still steal. Not from the rich to give to the poor. But, from stores. Places of business that I could easily buy. 

I do it for the thrill. For the challenge. For the way my heart beats at I stake out my claim, then swipe it, concealing it on my person.

It began on a vacation. I was away in Banff, skiing. I walked into a store near the small cafe in the resort, and saw a ring that I fell in love with. I didn't have any money on me, but I tried the ring on. It fit so wonderfully, perfectly cool against my finger. The only annoyance was the plastic coated paper tag hanging from the bottom. Without thinking, I pulled it off, letting it float to the ground by my feet. I looked up. No one had seen me. I pretended to be looking around the store to see where to go next, travelling among the rows of sparkling jewels, but I was really looking for security cameras. There was only one... aimed at the door. I had been right underneath it. My heart beat began to pick up. I walked toward the door, breathing quietly, looking for all the world like I hadn't seen a thing I wanted.

But, after I walked out, I went to my room. I sat on my bed for a good hour, just staring at the ring, wondering how I got away with it, knowing full well why I did. I didn't *look* like I was stealing anything.

On my next vacation, about a month later, I ended up with a good $1000 worth of jewelry that I didn't pay for. Most of it didn't even look good on me, or didn't fit. I gave it away as gifts. I picked up some non-jewelry items as well. Keychains, packs of gum... things probably not worth stealing. But, as I said, it's the excitement.

I pride myself on being able to steal anything that I want. 

I walked out of a store with 18 vid discs one day. They were still using the tagging system where they just placed a magnetic sticker on the package. With my stack of CDs, I began walking around the store, gently sliding the stickers off the packages. I walked toward the pillow section, it was one of those dreadful stores which sells practically everything, and set the CDs down. I looked around. Not a single device in the area looked anything like a security camera. I pulled off my jacket and artfully arranged the CDs in it, then sucked in my stomach and clutched the jacket and CDs against my body. I walked out of the store grimacing as though I had a horrible stomachache, and no one was any the wiser. I came back the next day with a friend to the same store. I bought a few notebooks and a candle. Then, I went to find my friend. My bag was hanging from my arm, and I was walking through the health and beauty care section. Several new brands of conditioner and makeup were calling my name. I wanted to try them, but didn't want to pay for them. It was easy enough. Hold the bag open, separating the notebooks, grasp the items, slide them in, walk on. I even stopped to pay for a pack of gum on the way out.

I think the part about my shoplifting, yes, that's the word for it, that makes me different than most is that I don't tell anyone. I hear people brag about it. And, eventually, they get caught. They always feel like they have to have a better story to tell their friends, so they try for something they wouldn't normally try for. That's when they fail.

I finally found a few of my friends who shoplift. They're braggarts. They keep tools with them: a cased razor blade, a small screwdriver, a lighter... I've no use for those. Simple methods are faster and work better. Don't gouge a hole in the back of the package, prying out the contents. Wander around the store. Pretend to be occasionally reading the back of the package. Slide a fingernail under the edge and gently move it along the edge holding your prize hostage, prying it open gently. It helps to wear loud shoes and move the packaging with you when you step. Always end up in a section of the store with stuff that's hard to steal. Pillows. Carpet and drapes. Fake flowers. Floor mats for vehicles. Someplace where you can leave the packaging where it won't be immediately visable, slide your prize into a pocket or a bag or even a sock, and begin to calmly exit the store, often stopping to buy something small on your way out.

A friend and I are shopping right now. I don't like the store we're in. There's nothing here I'd want to buy, nevermind steal. My friend has decided that there's a vid disc with her name on it. She's wearing a purple trench coat. Her method is flawed. I barely see here out of the corner of my eye, but she's being pretty obvious. First, she glances around wildly to make sure that no one's looking, but she forgets to look behind her and for security cameras, then openly lifts open her jacket, securing the disc in one pocket before lowering her elbows and cackling quietly. She walks over to me and drags me away from a camera display.

Suddenly, she decides to do a price check on some stupid-looking candle. The closest check station is back where we were. Without worry, she literally drags me along. As soon as we get there, a man with a baby strapped in the seat of his cart comes forth. "Hi. Remember me?"

My friend blanches. "Steven."

He nods and pulls out his wallet, opening it to his driver's license. "Yeah. Here's my ID for my name." He flips the third fold of the wallet open, revealing a police badge. "I believe you have something I want."

Eyes wide, my friend grudgingly hands over the vid disc. "Am I going to be arrested?"

When the answer came, she sighed in relief. "Not today, Dorothy. But, if you get caught again, yeah."

It's surreal. My best friend was caught shoplifting the one time I decided not to. I've never been suspected, let alone stopped, and she...

Suddenly, it's lost the thrill. Maybe I'll keep on stealing gum and the occasional day-glo orange scarf, but I'll never steal another vid disc. No more conditioner. Nothing that I can actually get pinner with.

That night, we were eating dinner together, and she asked me to promise her that I'd never shoplift again. I said, "Okay," but didn't really promise.

But, she smiled at me. "Good, Relena. I don't want something like what happened today to happen to you."

Funny. I don't either.


End file.
